Chapter 412 The Second Layer of Secrets, Foreshadowing by the Heavenly Emperor

Passing through the white light gate, Nightmare stepped into the second floor.

The scene here was completely different from the first floor.

There was no milky-white mist, no Origin lake, only a boundless gray space.

In this space, there was no sky, no ground, not even the concepts of up, down, left, or right. There were only countless floating gray fragments—some looking like architectural ruins, some like weapon shards, and some like... bones.

Dead silence.

Absolute dead silence.

Not even the sound of wind existed.

“Lord, something is wrong here.” The Deputy looked around vigilantly, “I can't feel any Origin fluctuations, but... there's an indescribable sense of oppression.”

Nightmare nodded.

He felt the same way.

Moreover, his Nidao Demonic Flame was unusually active here, as if it had encountered something resonant.

“Move forward,” he said in a low voice.

The team slowly advanced through the gray space.

The further they went, the more floating fragments there were. Nightmare casually grabbed one—it was a section of a broken sword blade, pitch-black all over, with its surface covered in eerie blood-colored patterns.

“A fragment of a Dao Reversal Artifact...” His pupils constricted slightly.

The aura remaining on this blade was of the same source as the three keys of dao reversal in his body, but even more ancient, even more... violent.

They continued forward.

Half an hour later, a point of light appeared ahead.

It was a sphere of light suspended in the Void Realm, a hundred zhang in diameter and completely transparent. Inside the sphere floated a palm-sized Jade Talisman—the Jade Talisman was Chaos-colored, with countless tiny runes flowing on its surface, each rune constantly changing as if it were alive.

“supreme formation eye jade talisman.” Nightmare recognized it at a glance.

And around the sphere of light, a team stood guard.

Eleven people.

All wore identical black battle armor, with the words “Heavenly Emperor” engraved in dark gold on the surface. The faces beneath the armor were hidden by black masks, revealing only pairs of eyes as cold as ice.

Leading them was a tall man with a sheathless longsword hanging at his waist; the blade was pitch-black, and a blood-colored crystal was embedded in the hilt.

Cosmic Supreme Realm Early Stage.

“Heavenly Emperor Guards...” Nightmare narrowed his eyes.

He had seen this title in the token's intelligence—the personal guard unit of the Divine Court's Heavenly Emperor, answering only to the Heavenly Emperor himself. Each member was a hand-picked death soldier with combat power far exceeding those of the same rank.

The tall man slowly raised his head and looked at Nightmare.

“Nightmare.” He spoke, his voice as raspy as two stones rubbing together, “The Heavenly Emperor has ordered that Reverse Path anomalies must not step into the Secret Realm's core. Today, you are doomed to die.”

“With just you?” Nightmare said indifferently.

“With just me.” The man slowly drew the black sword from his waist, “Third Commander of the Heavenly Emperor Guards, Hei Yu.”

He raised his sword and pointed it at Nightmare.

“Kill.”

With a single command, the ten Heavenly Emperor Guardss behind him moved simultaneously.

The ten people instantly dispersed, surrounding Nightmare and the Core War Army in a circle. They didn't attack immediately but formed hand seals, and ten beams of black light shot from their palms, interlacing in the air to form a massive black light net.

The light net slowly pressed down.

Everywhere it passed, space was corroded, making a “sizzling” sound.

“Dao Reversal Cage!” Nightmare shouted low.

Black-gray flames surged from his body, turning into a flame cage that enveloped the black light net in reverse.

But this time, the cage failed to swallow the light net immediately.

The two forces stalemated in the air, making a piercing grinding sound.

“Hmm?” Nightmare frowned.

His Nidao Demonic Flame had encountered a force that could briefly contend with it for the first time.

“It's useless.” Hei Yu sneered, “The Heavenly Emperor Guards Cultivates the ‘Heavenly Emperor Forbidden Law,’ specifically designed to suppress Reverse Dao Power. Your flames, no matter how strong, are ultimately just flames.”

He raised his sword and took a step forward.

Though it was just a simple step, he crossed a distance of a hundred zhang and appeared in front of Nightmare.

The black sword slashed down.

No sword light, no Sword Qi, only a pure will of “destruction.”

This strike seemed capable of severing Karma, severing Laws, and severing all existence.

Nightmare raised his blade to parry.

Clang—!!!

Blade and sword tip collided.

This time, it was no longer a silent confrontation.

A terrifying shockwave spread in all directions; the gray space shook violently, and countless fragments were shattered into dust. The Core War Army was shaken back repeatedly, and those with weaker cultivation even spat out blood.

Nightmare retreated three steps; the web of his right hand holding the blade split open, and blood flowed freely.

Hei Yu only retreated one step, but a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

“To take a strike from me and not die,” he said slowly, “you are stronger than described in the intelligence.”

“Is that so?” Nightmare shook the blood off his hand, and the wound healed rapidly under the shroud of black-gray flames, “Then try taking another strike from me.”

He took a deep breath.

Inside his body, the power of the three keys of dao reversal, the full might of the Grandmist Chaos Void Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame, and all the Origins absorbed these past few days... all the power began to frantically fuse and undergo a qualitative change at this moment.

The color of the flames changed again.

From black-gray, it turned into an even more eerie color—not black, not white, not any known color.

It was the color of “Annihilation.”

It was as if a single glance would cause even the Divine Soul to be annihilated along with it.

“Grandmist Chaos Void Annihilation Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame...” Nightmare murmured to himself.

It had evolved.

This evolution was not a simple increase in power, but a fundamental transformation.

He raised his blade again.

This time, the flames on the blade were no longer burning, but... collapsing.

All light and heat, all power and Laws, were collapsing inward, condensing into a point of ultimate “nothingness” on the blade's edge.

“Slash.”

A single strike was unleashed.

No sound, no light, not even a trajectory.

Hei Yu's pupils shrank abruptly.

He felt an indescribable sense of crisis, a warning from his life instinct—he would die!

“Heavenly Emperor Body Protection!” he roared wildly, his black armor erupting with blinding black light as he held his black sword across his chest.

But it was useless.

That strike ignored the black light, ignored the black armor, and ignored the black sword.

Like an eraser wiping away a pencil drawing, wherever it passed, nothing remained.

Hei Yu looked down at his chest.

There was a hole there.

A hole the size of a fist, with edges as smooth as a mirror.

Through the hole, the gray space behind him could be seen.

No blood, no wound, it had simply “disappeared.”

“This... impos...” He opened his mouth, but before he could finish, his entire body began to rapidly turn into nothingness starting from his chest.

Three breaths later, Hei Yu, the Third Commander of the Heavenly Emperor Guards, had completely vanished.

Only a black storage ring remained, floating in mid-air.

Nightmare reached out and grabbed the ring.

At the same time, he looked at the ten Heavenly Emperor Guardss who were still maintaining the light net.

The ten men were now pale, their eyes filled with horror.

The Commander... is dead?

Killed instantly with one strike?

“Run!” one of them roared hoarsely.

The ten men simultaneously withdrew the light net and turned to flee.

“Don't think any of you can leave.” Nightmare raised his hand.

Ten streaks of Annihilation flames shot from his fingertips, instantly catching up to the ten men.

Pfft pfft pfft pfft pfft—

Ten soft sounds.

The ten Heavenly Emperor Guardss simultaneously turned into nothingness.

The battle ended.

From start to finish, it took less than twenty breaths.

The Cultivators of the Core War Army watched this scene blankly, unable to speak for a long time.

Lord... has become stronger again.

So strong that it made them feel fear.

Nightmare ignored everyone's shock; he walked to the sphere of light and reached inside.

The sphere of light did not block him, as if recognizing his power.

He grabbed the supreme formation eye jade talisman.

The Jade Talisman felt warm to the touch, containing vast space-time power within. Nightmare could feel that as long as he injected enough Origin, he could use it to open the passage to the third floor.

But he didn't try immediately.

Instead, he took out Hei Yu's storage ring.

His Divine Sense probed inside.

There weren't many things in the ring, only three: a pile of high-grade origin crystals, a black token, and a... golden Jade Slip.

Nightmare took out the Jade Slip.

The Jade Slip was warm in his hand, with the words “Bestowed by the Heavenly Emperor” engraved on its surface.

His Divine Sense probed inside.

The information within the Jade Slip flooded into his mind like a tide.

“Grandmist Supreme Hall, left by the ancient Reverse Path powerhouse ‘Annihilation Supreme.’ The hall is divided into three floors: the first floor contains Origin Liquid, the second floor contains the Array Core Jade Talisman, and the third floor...”

“Houses the primordial supreme crystal core, as well as... part of Annihilation Supreme's Reverse Path Origin Legacy.”

“The Divine Court's Heavenly Emperor wishes to seize the crystal core to break through to the Creation Realm. Simultaneously, he intends to completely destroy the Reverse Path Origin Legacy to eliminate future troubles forever.”

“If a Reverse Path successor is encountered, kill them without mercy.”

The information ended there.

Nightmare Put away the jade slip， Cold eyes。

The Divine Court's Heavenly Emperor... wants to seize the crystal core to break through and also wants to completely destroy the Reverse Path Legacy?

“Then let's see,” he gripped the supreme formation eye jade talisman tightly, “whether you break through first, or I obtain the Legacy first.”

He turned and looked at the Core War Army.

“Rest for a day. Tomorrow, we enter the third floor.”

“Yes!”

Everyone responded in unison.

Nightmare sat cross-legged and began to regulate his breathing.

Annihilation flames flowed through his body; with every complete cycle, his aura became a bit more solid.

And the supreme formation eye jade talisman in his hand was faintly shimmering with a Chaos-colored light.

As if waiting, waiting for the person who could activate it.